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Tip

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Garlic & parsley butter: Fry cubes of bread in the butter until crisp. Then sprinkle over soups and salads. Tuck a little butter between the flesh and skin of chicken breasts before roasting or spread over open mushrooms before grilling.

Method

Scrub the mussels and pull off any beards.
Rinse in several changes of cold water, then
discard any that are open and do not close
when tapped against the side of the sink.

Drain the mussels and put in a large pan
with a splash of water. Bring to the boil, then
cover the pan, shaking occasionally, until the
mussels are open – this will take 2-3 mins.
Drain well, then discard any that remain
closed. Heat grill to high.

Mix the crumbs and zest. Remove one side
of each shell, then spread a little butter onto
each mussel. Set on a baking tray and sprinkle
with crumbs. Grill for 3-4 mins until crunchy.

If you throw away mussels that have not opened after cooking you are wasting money this is a myth believed to have been started by Jane Grigson in her 1973 publication FISH BOOK.
Nick Ruella a Fish biologist and mussel expert has proved this. Prior to Jane Grigsons book no cookery books had this in them
try looking at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation web site
abc.net.au in the science section under Mussel myth an open and shut case

I made these for a starter and they went down a treat, very tasty but simple to do and can be prepared well in advance, will be trying these again with parmesan as mentioned above and also would be nice with the chilli, corriander and lime butter for a thai twist :)

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